Customer Reviews

Peanuts Treasury

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Many of Schulz's detractors are quick to point out how much Peanuts seemed to decline over the years; by the end, things were rarely funny and became so repetitive that more than a few columnists accused Schulz of "running on fumes."

Regardless of your opinion, there's no arguing with the strips presented in Peanuts Treasury, originally published in 1968 during what was arguably Schulz's prime. Schulz had spent most of the 50's gradually developing the cast as well as his technique, and by the dawn of the 60's, he was running full steam; it's no wonder that the strip was also at the height of its popularity.

This hardcover collection presents the cream of the crop between 1959 and 1964, and at just $9.98, it's a steal. A rather bare-bones book (the cover is very sparse and the only addition is a brief introduction written back in August of 1968), I was surprised at how funny and sharp Peanuts could be. If you're a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes, you'll definitely see the huge inspiration Schulz served on Watterson. Calvin isn't anything like the Peanuts characters, but a lot of his world views, sarcasm, and humor feel like they evolved from these strips.

The presentation isn't perfect: some of the stories running through a few strips feel like they aren't in correct chronological order, and the Sunday strips aren't in color (a small complaint, though, since the artwork, particularly the use of color, was never that elaborate). Nevertheless, if you're looking for just one Peanuts collection to own, or if you just couldn't understand what the fuss was over this strip, check this collection out.

This is a series of black and white reproductions of daily and Sunday newspaper strips of Peanuts from the late 1950s through 1968 when this collection was first published. The strips are not put into any sort of chronological sequence, except within some story segments. I did denote an attempt to assemble them in chronological order across a year, as the collection begins with New Year's resolutions and ends with perspectives on the old year.

This collection missed the chance to have a detailed introduction about Charles Schulz and the Peanuts characters. Such an introduction would have added value far beyond its cost.

The printing is so poorly done in places that it is hard to identify Charlie Brown as himself. It felt like reading a comic strip on a light colored paper bag in places.

But, the price is amazingly low. While a quality version of this book would have undoubtedly retailed for ... or more, this one is priced as though it has only 40 pages in it.

So if you want lots of Peanuts for very little money, this is your edition.

You'll find Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and Violet in these strips. Some of the strips are classics that you have not seen in many years. There are some good ones of Lucy and her lemonade stand/psychiatric clinic, Charlie Brown trying to kick the football while Lucy holds, Snoopy dreaming of being the Red Baron, Halloween and the Great Pumpkin, and Charlie Brown playing on and managing the kids' baseball team.

One of the benefits of this book is that you can read through extended sequences of strips to see their connections in ways that you could not do when you only saw them daily. It helps you appreciate Charles Schulz's narrative ability more. For example, the book starts with Lucy burying Linus' blanket. Separate story lines develop as Linus searches for it, tries to get along without it, Snoopy finds it for him, and Linus deals with the after effects. I remembered the sequence, but not all the ins and outs of the story. That probably means that I had missed some of the strips at the time. Perhaps you did, too.

You will definitely relive your younger days with these strips. If you only know the later Peanuts strips, I think you will like these better. They are fresher and more direct in their stories.

After you have finished reading all about Peanuts, I encourage you to think about all of the ways that we can make life easier or more difficult for each other. If we are like Lucy, we will add more complications than benefits. If we are too trusting and hard on ourselves like Charlie Brown, less will happen than the best also. I suggest that you reframe Lucy and Charlie Brown into one character who is both more aware and more caring than the average of the two. Then imagine how these stories would change.

Next, compare what you did today to what that new character would have done. What opportunities for improvement does that comparison present to you, for your life? Act on them!

Laugh at Peanuts, then at yourself, and then improve!

This book first came out a few decades ago and its republication will be welcomed by all Peanuts fans. Unless you are a fanatical collector, it is unthinkable to try to collect *all* Peanuts books ever published, and so some selection is necessary. _Peanuts_Treasury_ collects a large number of strips from the heyday of Peanuts (the late 1950's to the early 1970's) into one 250-page volume. Along with some of the "anniversary" books (e.g., Around the World in 45 Years, Peanuts Jubilee), this is the book to buy if you want a lot of bang for your buck.

Warning: do not confuse this book with the "Peanuts Treasury" *series* of books that reprint strips from the early 1990's.

If you are a Peanuts fan, then this is the book for you. It is not expensive, and I note there are some comments on the quality of the print, but this is a comic strip! How often have you peered at your favourite comic in some tatty old newspaper?

The strips aren't in any particular order, but what I like about it is that you can pick it up and open it at any page for a few moments of delight. All the characters are there, in all the situations you recognise them - Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound, Snoopy on his kennel, Lucy as psychiatrist and so on. Just what Peanuts is all about.

I think this is a great book to have lying around, and remember, it is a book of comic strips designed to entertain and amuse.

I love Peanuts. That said, this book, while showcasing some of the best classic cartoons, was somewhat disappointing to me. Besides being out of chronological order, the print quality is in a word AWFUL. Some of the strips are way too dark; others look like someone went in and penciled over Schulz's orginial script. Linus, particularly, exhibits "male pattern baldness" in numerous strips as the copying job was terrible.

If you're going to reprint comics of this quality at least do an acceptable job. The publishers did not do Schulz's art justice IMHO. If you can deal with a poor print job and value the comics for themselves, you will enjoy this book.

Apparently there has been a mix-up: The two "editions" of this book DON'T correspond to each other. I've bought the paperback one, and it does not contain some of the strips mentioned in the review section.

This is an excellent reproduction of Charles Schulz's Sunday newspaper comics. The cartoons are great, and I love how they are in black and white. It makes them look more authentic.

This is a great book for any Charles Schulz or Peanuts fans, and a must this holiday season or any time of the year.

This is a highly worthwhile "Peanuts" collection, as it's an unusually [inexpensive] but vast collection of late 50s-early/mid-60s strips that you don't often find in new books, with a lot of wonderful strips in it, and an effort to group them into their original storylines (where applicable) - Sally is born, and Charlie Brown rejoices ("I'm a father!" - and Linus tells Lucy, "You didn't act like that when I was born,") . . . Lucy buries Linus' blanket to prompt him to kick the habit, and Linus is plagued with withdrawal symptoms ("That's the first time I ever dreamed of Hyannis Port!") . . . Linus freaks out when Lucy assigns him to sing "Jingle Bells" at the PTA Christmas pageant - then the new year's pageant ("I will not run around the stage holding a banner reading '1964'!") . . . and, perhaps best, the first time Sally joins Linus in the pumpkin patch - and it's much, much funnier than the TV version ("YOU OWE ME RESTITUTION!!") . . . among many, many others. But anyway, this may be nostalgic for you, too, and even if not, it's still a wonderful book. It's definitely worth it!

Until a few years ago, Peanuts Classics collections were very hard to find except in your local library. But Peanuts Treasury is much better than most of those-better than most of the `60s collections, anyway. Not to say that the Classics books aren't good, but several of the books repeat strips, print the pages backwards, or even repeat stories (or parts of stories). But this collection doesn't do that. Not only that, but this book has about three times as many more pages AND there are more strips per page (five instead of two). A few of the stories aren't finished in this book either, but nevertheless it's a great collection.

This is a great overall collection of the comic strip from 1959 through the early 1960's, though I do agree that some of the story lines seem out of chronological order. I do wish there had been more information on Mr. Schulz and where some of his ideas for the story lines came from, but, for the price, it's a great value. I would highly recommend this book to someone who wants a basic collector's book of just the comic strips with no comments from Mr. Schulz. It is strictly a collection of comic strips... nothing more. But it is a collection of some of his best.